Sunday, July 14, 2024

Tales from the Logbook--First Time on Scuba



I remember my first experience underwater like happened yesterday.  

In the lecture that evening, we discussed the design and use of the equipment.  Dave introduced Steve McCollugh, an assistant instructor who would be helping out with the class.

Dave had us meet at an equipment locker just outside the UCSB swimming pool where he issued each of  us the b.c., regulator, and tank that we would use for our first pool session.  Someone asked about weights.  Dave said we would get the weight belt and weights on deck for now. 

“In the pool, you may not need weights and if you do it will be a fraction of what you need for the ocean dives.  Since you are not wearing wetsuits tonight, the weight of the scuba rig should be enough to make you ‘negative’.”

I was discovering that scuba, like flying, had its own acronyms, slang and jargon.  I guessed correctly that “negative” meant “weighted so as to sink.” In fact, “scuba” is an acronym for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.”

We toted our gear up on the pool deck.  

“Gather around me and I will show you how to assemble the gear," Dave said. Then you can put together your own rig.  But, never leave a tank standing up unattended.  So lay you tanks on their side before you come over.”

He led us through the step-by-step set up of the bc, tank, and regulator.  First, we attached the b.c. to the tank. 

“Make sure the hole on the valve is facing the back of the b.c., then loosen the tank strap, slide it over the b.c. so the top of the b.c. is about the same level as where the tank valve attaches to the tank.  Then tighten the tank strap until it is snug but not real tight.”

He then took the tank strap buckle and cinched it down by rotating the buckle.  “The buckle is used as a cam to securely tighten the strap,” he explained.

He then showed us how to attach the regulator to the tank by slipping the regulator’s yolk over the tank valve. “Stand behind the tank and hold the regulator’s first stage so the second stage and octopus hoses are on the right side of the tank and the power inflator and pressure gage hose are on the left side. Slide the first stage over the valve.  When you feel the tank valve orifice mate with the first stage line up the yolk screw with the dimple on the back of the valve and tighten the yolk screw finger tight only.  Do not ‘crank down’ on the yolk screw.”

He held the pressure gage against the base of the tank and cautioned us to always do so.  “Do not look at the gage as you open the tank valve.  If the gage is faulty, it could shatter the glass face of the gage.  Instead, hold the gage face against the tank as you open the valve.”

Dave cracked opened the tank valve.  There was a brief “pffft” and the hoses became rigid as they filled with air.  He then opened the tank valve all the way.  Only then did he check the pressure gage.

“This is an aluminum, 80-cubic-foot air tank.  That is about the volume of air that is inside a phone booth.  We have to compress the air to get it into the tank.  Anyone remember what the pressure gage will read if the tank is full?”

We just kind of looked at each other.  Someone tentatively offered up “3,000 p.s.i.?”

“That’s right” Dave responded.  “It may have less but it should have no more than 3,000 p.s.i.  How would you know that?”

“The maximum pressure is stamped on the top of the tank?” the same person responded.

“That’s right.” Dave confirmed.

He then closed the valve and called me over.

“Jim, try unscrewing the regulator.” 

I walked over, placed my right hand on the black yolk screw cap and tried turning it.  It would not budge. I tightened my grip and tried again.  It still would not move. Dave then hit the purge valve on the front of the second stage.  The air hissed out lines and the hoses went limp. 

“Now try it.”

It easily turned.

“Had I really cranked the yolk screw when I first put on the regulator, Jim probably would not have been able to unscrew it just now without using channel lock pliers.  O.K. pair up with a buddy and practice putting everything together.  Spread out, do it a few times each, and help each other out.”

Dave and Steve moved from group to group.  Chuckles would result when someone realized that had the hoses on the wrong side of the rig.  After about 15 minutes Dave was satisfied that we were familiar with assembling and taking apart the gear.  He then directed us to lay our assembled rigs on their side put on our mask, fins, and snorkel and line up along the edge of the pool. 

Steve demonstrated the giant stride entry into the water as Dave pointed out the finer points of the technique.  He then demonstrated the feet first and head first descents to get to the bottom of the pool, equalizing his ears with the increasing depth by pinching his nose, closing the mouth and breathing out in what Dave called the “valsalva maneuver.”

“Sounds like a tactic the Enterprise would use in battle against the Klingons,” my buddy Mike Chennault joked.

Next thing I knew, we were in the water practicing the techniques.  Bursts of water erupted as snorkels got cleared as the ascending diver broke the surface.  We also practiced flutter and frog kicks as we moved along the bottom of the pool.  After about 20 minutes, Dave had us crawl out and stand next to our assembled rigs in the end of the pool.  He showed us the correct way for the buddy to lift the rig and assist the diver into the gear.

“It is good practice for the biggest person in the pair to gear up first.  That way the smaller diver isn’t being weighed down as they lift the tank for the larger diver.”  Looking around at the other students I would always be the one to gear up first no matter who teamed with me.

Mike helped me into my rig.  I could feel the weight of it on my shoulders when he let go of the tank.  I then did the same for him

We lined up on the edge of the pool fully geared for entry.  With everyone breathing on their regulators the mechanical inhalation and exhalation made the pool deck sound like a Darth Vader convocation.  With  b.c.’s inflated, each diver did a giant stride entry into the water. When I hit the water I baely penetrated the surface because of the b.c.  We then swam on the surface to the shallow end of the pool.

Dave then had us vent the air from our b.c.’s and kneel down so our heads were just under the water.  My head submerged but I was breathing!  The two instructors checked that everyone was comfortable.  Dave then signaled that we should stay with our buddy and swim around the shallow end of the pool.  Mike and I swam away side-by-side.  It was a paradoxical feeling.  At one moment, I am ecstatic that I am breathing as I swim underwater and then am perplexed because I am breathing as I swim underwater. The wonder of that moment is one I often fondly recall.  There is nothing quite like it in the world.

At the end of the 90 minute session we carried our gear to the locker room showers and rinsed and disassembled the gear.  We then met Dave and Steve at the storage closet to deposit our gear.  Animated conversations among the group confirmed that everyone had a great experience and couldn’t wait for the next session.

Our sessions continued pretty much as Dave outlined in our first class.  In the classroom we discussed ever more complex concepts including the various gas laws regarding partial pressure that affect divers, Charles’ Law, Boyle’s Law, and so on.  I thought I had left these well behind me when I took the one-year physics course in college, twice since I loved it so much and did so well in it the first go around.  We struggled through the puzzle of using the plastic tables to compute our residual nitrogen time, actual bottom time, and total bottom time.  I understood that these exercises were important.  Dave emphasized that we needed to know how to calculate these values, which represented the amount of nitrogen gas saturated our bodily tissue, so we would not exceed the no decompression limit time for each dive.

He had us calculate the values under a number of scenarios and then asked, “is this a safe dive and why?”  If the “total bottom time” we calculated was less than the “no decompression limit” the correct answer was “yes, because we are within the limits for no getting the bends.”

It was not a trick question.  Dave noted that divers had gotten decompression sickness or “the bends” even though the tables indicated they were within limits.  The takeaway lesson was “don’t push the limits.”

Similarly in the pool we practiced progressively more complex skills such as mask flooding and clearing, mask removal and replacement, weight belt removal and replacement, buddy breathing, and simulated emergency swimming ascents.  With each skill we gained confidence in our abilities.  But, doing these in a pool is one thing, doing them in the ocean is another.

Making Progress

Our sessions continued pretty much as Dave outlined in our first class.  In the classroom we discussed ever more complex concepts including the various gas laws regarding partial pressure that affect divers, Charles’ Law, Boyle’s Law, and so on.  I thought I had left these well behind me when I took the one-year physics course in college, twice since I loved it so much and did so well in it the first go around.  We struggled through the puzzle of using the plastic tables to compute our residual nitrogen time, actual bottom time, and total bottom time.  I understood that these exercises were important.  Dave emphasized that we needed to know how to calculate these values, which represented the amount of nitrogen gas saturated our bodily tissue, so we would not exceed the no decompression limit time for each dive.

He had us calculate the values under a number of scenarios and then asked, “is this a safe dive and why?”  If the “total bottom time” we calculated was less than the “no decompression limit” the correct answer was “yes, because we are within the limits for no getting the bends.”

It was not a trick question.  Dave noted that divers had gotten decompression sickness or “the bends” even though the tables indicated they were within limits.  The takeaway lesson was “don’t push the limits.”

Similarly in the pool we practiced progressively more complex skills such as mask flooding and clearing, mask removal and replacement, weight belt removal and replacement, buddy breathing, and simulated emergency swimming ascents.  With each skill we gained confidence in our abilities.  But, doing these in a pool is one thing, doing them in the ocean is another.

Post Session Activities

A couple times after class I would not go directly home, but would head into downtown Goleta to listen to rock music at Pat’s Grass Shack—a small side street bar south of Hollister Avenue.[1]  The Shack had a kitschy Polynesian décor and catered mostly to rock and roll bands.  During the week it featured “open mike” experience to local bands.  No pay, but it gave local musicians a place to perform.  My brother Bob played a couple of songs there one night.

I worked with at Delco with Greg Brallier, one of the band members in “The Duck Club” which would soon be relaunched as the “Five Cool What” before morphing into “The Volcanoes,“Pat, Fin, and Greg” and finally “The Tearaways.”[2][3][4]  I stopped in a few times to listen to them play.  I still have one of their cassette tapes.  I listen to it when I lose radio reception around Turnagain Pass as I drive the highway to dive at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward.



[1] See “A Farewell to the Shack” by Fear Heiple.  In the Isla Vista Free Press, April 27 to May 3, 1988, p. 4    https://www.library.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/special-collections/ research/ ivweb/ ivFP/FreePress_4_27_88.pdf accessed on March 20, 2023.

[2] See S.B. Tearaways Morph into Badfinger.  Santa Barbara Independent.  June 21, 2009. https://www.independent.com/2009/06/21/s-b-s-tearaways-morph-into-badfinger/ accessed on March 20, 2023.

[3] Identifying Your Big Break - Sometimes A Field Goal Is OK.  John Greathouse.  Forbes. May 19, 2012.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2012/05/19/identifying-your-big-break-sometimes-a-field-goal-is-ok/?sh=4502d5124012 accessed on March 20, 2023

[4] Where Were You in ‘82? An Oral History of Santa Barbara Clubland’s Age of Enlightenment.  Jeff Wing.  February 8, 2017.  Linked In.  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-were-you-82-oral-history-santa-barbara-clublands-jeff-wing-2/ accessed March 20, 2023


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